Sanheim Reflects on Rollercoaster Season

Coming off the best all-around season of his NHL career in 2020-21, Flyers defenseman Travis Sanheim entered the 2022-23 campaign with high expectations and an eight-season contract extension ($6.25 million average annual value) that will run from the 2023-24 season through 2030-31.

Last season, Sanheim used his mobility effectively and played with a high degree of confidence on both sides of the puck. The result was a Barry Ashbee Trophy winning season and selection to Team Canada at the 2022 IIHF World Championships. The Elkhorn, Manitoba, native produced 31 points (second-highest output of his NHL career) despite limited power play time. He was a traditional plus-five on a Philadelphia team that was severely underwater in goal differential.
In terms of underlying metrics, among Flyers defensemen who played 25 or more games in 2021-22, Sanheim ranked first (5-on-5 Corsi, 5-on-5 scoring chance percentage) or second (5-on-5 Fenwick, 5-on-5 expected goals percentage) in various statistical categories.
Unfortunately, this past season individually didn't go for Sanheim the way the player himself or the Flyers' organization thought it would. He struggled defensively and went through lengthy stretches where he lacked assertiveness in triggering the rush and/or joining the play up ice.
For the 2022-23 season on the whole, Sanheim's production dipped to 23 points and a traditional minus-five. Both by the eye-test and via analytics, his effectivness dropped offensively, defensively, and in transition. Sanheim, who turned 27 on March 29, showed improvement in the latter stages of 2022-23 but still felt there's a higher level of consistency he's capable of reaching.
"My feet are a big part of my game and I wasn't as consistent in that area as I need to be. It's still a work in progress," Sanheim said on Exit Day. "I think [head coach John Tortorella] knows that. I thought there were some better games but I could be more aggressive and more consistent in those areas."
To some degree, Sanheim may have been guilty of over-thinking things as he tried to make adjustments over the past season. He's always been his own biggest critic. For example, Sanheim is a player who extensively studies video of his performances, both for positive plays and for errors with or without the puck: gap control, stick positioning, reads or misreads. In 2022-23, it got to the point where Sanheim may have ended up making things worse for awhile by worrying more about adjustments than simply playing the game.
Early this season, from the start of the campaign until nearly midway through November, Sanheim played decently on the defensive side of the puck but wasn't contributing much of anything offensively -- a stark contrast to the reputation he had at the start of his pro career, when the concern was that he'd be a strictly offensive-minded defenseman. This season, 12 of Sanheim's 23 points came in the 21-game stretch between Nov. 13 and the start of the Christmas break (4g, 8a, minus-3). He was third on the team in scoring over that span.
However, coinciding with that mid-November to Dec. 23 stretch, head coach John Tortorella called Sanheim out publicly a couple of times, challenging him to be more aggressive.
Sanheim spent most of the 2021-22 season paired with Rasmus Ristolainen. They started out together in 2022-23, too. However, Ristolainen's campaign got off to a very rough start and turned around dramatically as it went along. Over the latter portion of this season, the pairing was reunited.
From mid-November to mid-December, Sanheim often played in a pairing with another vet with whom he'd often played in the past: stay-at-home defenseman Justin Braun. Later, Sanheim spent roughly six weeks on a pairing with offensive-minded Tony DeAngelo. They
started being paired regularly shortly before the holiday break; a few games after DeAngelo returned to the lineup from bereavement leave following his grandmother's passing and a brief stint as a healthy scratch. Before that, DeAngelo was paired with Ivan Provorov in the early weeks of the season. Once Cam York was recalled from Lehigh Valley in December, York rapidly moved up to play with Provorov.
The Sanheim-DeAngelo pairing never quite clicked. One theory: Sanheim attempted to play a more conservative, defensive-minded style to balance off the ultra-aggressive, roaming style that DeAngelo plays. Consequently, Sanheim got away from playing to his own strengths.
It should be noted, however, that even after the pairing wiht DeAngelo was separated --DeAngelo subsequently played mostly with Nick Seeler at five on five -- Sanheim struggled for several months. There were sporadic games where he'd resemble the 2021-22 version of himself but it was not sustained.
"If I knew exactly why, I'd have corrected it," Sanheim said. "I do think some of it was mental. Some of it was confidence. I knew I had to be a little better."
At the NHL All-Star break, the Flyers were "hockey .500" for the season (21-21-9). The bottom dropped out in February, as the club went 2-7-1. Most players on the team struggled, and Sanheim was no exception.
Sanheim's 2022-23 season hit its nadir on February 20. The Flyers' annual visit to play the Calgary Flames is one of the player's most eagerly anticipated games of each season. Sanheim played his junior hockey for the Western Hockey League's Calgary Hitmen, who share the Saddledome with the Flames as their home arena. During his time with the Hitmen, Travis' teammates included his twin brother, Taylor.
Sanheim had numerous family members and friends in attendance for the game in Calgary. However, the player was a healthy scratch for the game. It was the only game Sanheim missed in 2022-23 and the first time he'd been scratched as a coach's decision in the NHL since he was in and out of Dave Hakstol's lineup as a rookie in 2017-18.
The scratching in Calgary bothered Sanheim, who learned he wasn't playing when he arrived at the arena.
"I wasn't expecting it, especially with where the game was at. During the season, there are certain dates that you circle that are meaningful to you. Playing in that building, I had a lot of great memories there. Not getting to play obviously hurt. But I've moved on and gotten over it." Sanheim said.
At least the 2022-23 campaign finished for Sanheim on a relatively positive note. Over the final 21 games of the season (March 1 to April 13), there were signs of progress. While averaging 19:49 of ice time, Sanheim started to once make better use of his mobility and regain some of his lost confidence. Offensively, he chipped in seven points (3g, 4a) and tied for the team lead with a traditional plus-three. A two-goal game against Florida on March 21 highlighted the player's push as the schedule wound down. Some of Sanheim's key individual metrics also started to trend upwards late in the season.
There was still some unevenness from game to game in the waning weeks of the season but, on the whole, Sanheim finished out a rough season with signs of progress. He also seemed to move his working relationship with head coach Tortorella in a more positive direction from a two-way communication standpoint.
"We've moved on. I think our relationship is just fine. I think he's got a better understanding of my game now, and I've got a little better understand of what he expects from me. Hopefully, moving into next season, we get a little better outcome and I play a little bit more consistently," Sanheim said.
Sanheim's new contract will kick on July 1, 2023, and carries a full no-trade clause for the first four seasons with a modified no-trade clause (12-team no-trade list). While it's always possible that a player could be traded, it is more likely that Sanheim is part of the Flyers' starting blueline plan for 2023-24. A bounceback season for Sanheim would be of big help not only to the player himself but also to the Flyers' progress as a team in what both Tortorella and interim general manager Danny Briere have deemed a rebuilding process for the organization.